It is the power it gives him.

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Anyone trying to make sense of President Trump’s tariffs is missing the point. The conga line of trade negotiators will keep dancing because Mr. Trump will continue to use tariffs to exert dominance, signal threats and make deals. There won’t be a new end state. Tariff numbers will keep fluctuating, prices for goods and investments will be unreliable, and agreements won’t last. But the damage to America’s economy and strategic interests will persist.
The president has cited various goals for his disorderly deal-making. He wants to cut bilateral trade deficits, open foreign markets, protect favored U.S. industries and restore manufacturing. He also wants to raise revenue and in some instances simply punish others for a perceived offense. His administration leaps from one rationalization to another to justify the boss’s most recent whim. But Mr. Trump won’t be pinned down. He believes uncertainty adds to his power and wants the freedom to bully others depending on what has his attention.

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Why the Trump Tariff Merry-Go-Round Won’t Stop - WSJ

Interesting comments.

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Last Friday in Jackson Hole, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell finally – and grudgingly – admitted what the Trump team has been saying all along: tariffs don’t fuel inflation.
At most, tariffs create a one-time adjustment in prices, not the kind of runaway spiral that demands punishing rate hikes. And even that one-time bump may be negligible if, as we have long argued, foreign exporters – not American consumers – shoulder most or all of the burden.

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Fed chair's Jackson Hole speech opens door to potential rate cuts | Fox News

He said price increases are real but it is possible it is a one time adjustment. Given the pressure on him by Trump I am sure he is hedging his bets. Trump has threatened to fire Powell and he did attempt to fire Lisa Cook ( "with cause" whatever that means .......SCOTUS will decide that)

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“The question that matters for monetary policy is whether these price increases are likely to materially raise the risk of an ongoing inflation problem. A reasonable base case is that the effects will be relatively short lived — a one-time shift in the price level. Of course, ‘one-time’ does not mean ‘all at once.’ It will continue to take time for tariff increases to work their way through supply chains and distribution networks. Moreover, tariff rates continue to evolve, potentially prolonging the adjustment process.
“It is also possible, however, that the upward pressure on prices from tariffs could spur a more lasting inflation dynamic, and that is a risk to be assessed and managed. "

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Speech by Chair Powell on the economic outlook and framework review - Federal Reserve Board

The new tariff game . Whirlpool is complaining that their overseas competition has been undervaluing their garbage disposal products to avoid the extra tariff costs .

All these regulations are a government bureaucrat's job security package.
Plenty of bean counters needed to unravel this mystery . My favorite work around is when the Chinese label their products 'Made in Vietnam .

Who's covering the enforcement costs ? No problem . Sell the Chinese more US bonds if they are still willing to purchase them.

Me ?I'm partial to LG appliances from S Korea.

Trump's tariffs continue to damage . What to do ?
He is doing carve outs and subsidies to industries he has irreversibly damaged .

Take agriculture as an example. China has answered Trump's tariffs on soy beans by replacing US purchases with purchases from Argentina. US exports went from 985 million bushels last year to 218 million this year.

So Trump is considering a bailout plan for US farmers to the tune of $10 billion AND at the same time is awarding a bailout to Argentina to the tune of $20 billion .

Trump considers massive bailout of at least $10 billion for American farmers hurt by his trade war | CNN Business

Industry is taking note and putting out their hands expecting their handouts

Pfizer gets a 3 year reprieve.
Pfizer to lower some drug prices as White House builds "TrumpRx" website
US automakers are to get bailed out
Detroit auto stocks jump on report of tariff relief for U.S. vehicles

Remember when it was said that tariffs would be paid for by foreign nations. Now not only do we pay higher prices at either the wholesale or retail level ;we also get to pay for them with our tax dollars.

Absent from the comments coming out of the White House lately is all the $$$$ that is being collected from tariffs . Why ? Because it aint happening .......not from foreign nations anyway.
Instead we are getting rhetoric that sounds like it came out of Clueless Joe's regime.

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In a statement to ABC News, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said, "Americans may face a transition period from tariffs," but insisted "the cost of tariffs will ultimately be borne by foreign exporters."

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As new tariffs take effect, US consumers footing more than half the burden: Report - ABC News

hmmm inflations is transitional .When did we hear that before ?

Analysts are saying consumers and American companies are bearing the bulk of the costs ;and the White House is not denying it .

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US consumers will likely shoulder 55% of tariff costs by the end of the year, with American companies taking on 22%, the Goldman analysts wrote in an Oct. 12 research note to clients. Foreign exporters would absorb 18% of tariff costs by cutting prices for goods, while 5% would be evaded, they wrote.

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How the United States is eating Trump's tariffs

Trump is digging in on the issue.

Trump Enacts Tariffs on Imported Lumber and Furniture - The New York Times

Having already severely damaged US farmers who grow soy beans ; Trump late yesterday threatened tariffs on Chinese cooking oil ( that won't affect me . The only oil I use for cooking is olive ) . But imports of Chinese cooking oil is already almost non-existent. What China did was stop importing soy beans from the US . They now get them from Argentina (a nation who's economy Trump plans to prop up with a bailout ) .

The way I see it ;it will be hard for the Dems to screw up the mid-term elections even with all the success Trump is having in foreign policy .

2 things can save the Repubs hides and both come from SCOTUS

Before the end of the year they will make rulings on the constitutionality of Trump's tariffs ;and on the issue of racial preferences for voting districts .

They should decide that his tariffs are unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court Should Limit Trump’s Tariff Power | Cato Institute

If they decide that districts drawn with deference to racial preferences is unconstitutional the Repubs will pick up a significant number of seats .......maybe
In 'monumental' voting rights case, Supreme Court weighs use of race in redistricting - ABC News
Repubs could gain up to 19 seats .

Why maybe ? It should be a sure thing . But the coming mid-term election will be about the economy .

The average cost of a new car tops $50,000 for the first time ever | CNN Business

Trump tariffs help fuel biggest grocery price hike since 2022

And all of this would be worse except he has done a great job with US energy production .

At the retail level is where American voters will judge for themselves if his policies are effective . No one believed that inflation was transitory during Clueless Joe's regime. I don't believe many Americans are buying it now.